8th Graders Take Over Little Silver

Markham Place children participate in Little Silver's Student Government Day

Markham Place Scores Epic Win at Odyssey of the Mind Competition

Odyssey of the Mind is an internationally known organization that encourages creativity and problem solving for children from kindergarten to college.

Markham 7th Graders to Return Around 3 PM, Principal Says

Markham Place Principal Dennis Morolda says the students should depart from Camp Bernie around 12:30 p.m.

A message to 7th grade parents from Markham Place School Principal Dennis Morolda: I am watching the weather very closely and have been working with the bus company and with the Camp Bernie staff to make sure that all safety precautions are for place for our return trip. The buses are scheduled to arrive at Camp Bernie at 11:30. This was the earliest they could arrive. We will have lunch at 11:30 and we hope to leave the Camp Grounds between 12:15- 12:45. Camp Bernie has snow plows and salt trucks and have been diligently keeping the roads clear and salted. When we leave the camp site, the plows will lead us out if there is any snow on the road surface. Currently, we are only seeing light flurries on and off and there is no accumulation. …

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Taming Crowded Hallways Brings Markham Students Big Win at Science Competition

The Little Silver team scored top honors and $1,000 for the school at the Stars Science Competition held at Monmouth University.

Creating a way to bring order to crowded school hallways gave Little Silver middle school students the edge to beat out 26 other teams and win the annual Stars Science Competition last weekend. The annual event, held at Monmouth University on Jan. 12, challenged students to identify a problem at their school and to then come up with solutions using science, creativity and teamwork. "Students love competitions and the opportunity to compete intellectually - to come up with a creative solution to a problem that exists in their school or community.  Students get to pick a problem and demonstrate their grasp of science and creativity as they develop a solution," said Dr. Margaret Ann Chappell, co-founder of The Stars Challenge. The Markham …

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Penny Wars Add Up at Little Silver School

Fundraisers at both schools raised close to $4,500 for Union Beach school music programs.

They filled up plastic milk jugs, Zipoc bags and Solo cups and in the end, Point Road School students collected almost $4,000 in change to buy instruments for a Union Beach school to replace equipment damaged during Hurricane Sandy. The Penny Wars were held in conjunction with an instrument drive and candy cane fundraiser at Markham Place that netted almost $500 and seven instruments, including a harp, two flutes and a drum set. "In no way did we think Point Road would ever collect that much money," said Little Silver PTO Co-President Phyllis Sauer. The organization helped organize the fundraisers and is footing the bill for a pizza party for the class that brought in the most money at Point Road (Mrs. Ince's second graders). A candy cane …

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Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison For Involuntary Manslaughter Death of Little Silver Principal

Accident occurred in May 2008 on Fort Monmouth property

A Tinton Falls man was sentenced to 41 months in prison for the involuntary manslaughter death of Donald Merce, a principal from Markham Place School in Little Silver. Dennis Smenktowski, 47, pleaded guilty in 2011 to one count of involuntary manslaughter for driving his car while impaired by the sleep medication Ambien, causing the death of Merce, 58, in a head-on collision, on May 6, 2008, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today. Smentkowski is a retired Long Branch police officer. According to a release from the United States Attorney's Office, Smentkowski was driving his Ford Explorer southbound on Oceanport Avenue near the east gate of Fort Monmouth at 7 a.m., when he drove across a double yellow line into oncoming traffic and …

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LSBOE Says Good-Bye to Board Pres.

The board also recognized students for recent accomplishments.

"It's time," said Kevin Brennan, who stepped down from the Little Silver Board of Education Thursday night after serving as a member for 10 years. Brennan, who has served as the board's president for the last three years, chose not run for reelection in November. "I'm going to miss him like crazy," said Little Silver Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carolyn Kossack at the Dec. 13 meeting, noting Brennan's "global thinking" and dedication to the district. Brennan served as board president since 2009 and as vice president from 2007 to 2009. The board also recognized students from both schools for recent accomplishments. Point Road School third graders Avery Davis and Anna Gotterup were commended for posters they created for Garden Club Woodsy …

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Warriors Cross Country Teams Celebrate Winning Season

Markham's boys and girls teams finished third in their respective divisions.

Sandy not only swept away many homes and beach clubs but she also pushed aside smaller bits of news as the superstorm barrelled towards the Jersey Shore. Markham Place's language teacher and coach Kathy Young shared with Patch that the school's boys and girls cross country teams placed third in their respective divisions for the season. Go Warriors!

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Long-Time Markham Place Teacher Dies

Edward R. Perkins, Jr. taught seventh grade math at the Little Silver school for 30 years.

Red Bank resident Edward R. Perkins, Jr., formerly of Rumson, died on Sunday, Nov. 4. Perkins, 90, taught seventh grade math at Markham Place School in Little Silver for 30 years until his retirement in 1986, according to an obituary in the Asbury Park Press. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Carol; his children, Karen Douglas of Palo Alto, CA, Rich of Nashua, NH, and Mark of Cupertino, CA; and his grandchildren, Heradon, Russ, Anna, Pamela, Carol, Kit, and Nate. He was the only son of Edward and Janette Perkins and was raised in Woodstock, NY. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10 at The Atrium, 30 Riverside Ave., Red Bank. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the American Cancer Society. …

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Slideshow: Downtown Little Silver Gets a Halloween Makeover

Markham Place eighth grade students keep up the 30-year tradition of painting windows of local businesses for Halloween.

Living in Little Silver, there are some things we know we can count on, like pizza parlors swarming with middle schoolers on half days and traffic backed up through town when school lets out. For about 30 years, we've also come to expect that Markham Place students will transform the windows of downtown businesses with spooky and silly scenes, as they did on Tuesday during the annual Halloween window painting. Under the supervision of art teacher Nicole Lawlor, with the help of phys ed teacher Don Nolan, 33 eighth graders spread out throughout town and painted everything from Phineas and Pherb on Grandma's Bagels to Sleeping Beauty dressed as Minnie Mouse across the side of Wells Fargo and some spooky Halloween scene that took over the …

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